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Saturday 16 March 2013

Perfecting the art of perfection




Well today's post was actually meant to be posted yesterday. The reason why it wasn't? I am a perfectionist, and I choked. I spent nearly an hour writing and knew after about 2 minutes that the post wasn't coming along how I'd hoped but I battled on regardless, hoping that maybe it would turn out okay.

It's a funny thing perfectionism, the goal is to create something that could be described as unsurpassable, the best, something to be admired and awed by others maybe, but in the process of striving for perfection we can in fact cut off our nose to spite our face. Trying to create anything to such a high standard is by definition a tall order. It's something that personally I find stressful in the making, whilst hoping that if I reach the goal, my anxiety will somehow be soothed. If you're a perfectionst like me, you'll know that achieving Nirvana rarely happens and often, what started off as a pleasurable project can turn into a frustrating meltdown. Or is that just me?

Yesterday though, I was so pleased to find that I might not be as alone as I thought in my love/hate relationship with my perfectionist tendencies. My job requires me to be super organised, not just for me but sometimes for others too, and I quite like this responsibility. My perfectionist nature shines through and helps me to be as good as I can be at my day job. But when it comes to my hobbies, the other side of the perfect mask shows its face.

During a Blog Boss class this week we touched on the topic of perfection and all the points raised, hit home with me. I realised that sometimes I am way too harsh with myself and I need to stop holding back and waiting until my projects (whatever they be) are perfect, as my "very good" is more than likely good enough. I should enjoy the ride and not get saddled with too many doubts as really my harshest critic is me! All I can do is try to be and do the best I can and not worry about how that compares to what others might do.

This realisation touches all areas of my life and one of my not so secret hobbies is attending Pole Fit classes and after yesterday's "epiphany", I had my best session yet and got a bumper sticker to boot! I think I surprised a few people by taking pole up, as it requires confidence and body awareness which I find a bit awkward to say the least. I have been struggling the last few weeks as I didn't feel I was making enough progress compared to others, and this was the problem. By comparing myself and not being perfect in my eyes I was instantly a loser. But it wasn't an even playing field! Why was I trying to compare myself as a beginner to girls who have been pole-ing for a year or more? Last night I un-consciously let myself go, focussed on what I wanted to achieve out of the session and in doing so go the best "pole high", it's fired me up even more for next week.

So in the week ahead, I am going to try my best to let go a little more, not focus so much on the perfect ending, but make the journey more interesting and enjoyable for what it is. If you are a perfectionist too then why not give yourself a break, even just for 1 blog post :-)

**The images are from Instagram/Pinterest/Facebook so I'm afraid I don't know who to credit. The pole one I believe is from Pole Nation and was shared by my teacher from their site.


4 comments:

  1. Hi Sophie! I found you in our class blogroll on Blogging Your Way: Blog Boss. I just wanted to say I completely relate to this post. Only, my want for perfection doesn't inspire me to create. Thank you for your perspective on letting go and being ok with being a beginner. I added you as one of the blogs I think rock because you are awesome!

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    1. Hello, thank you so much for your lovely comment...it's made my day! I LOVE the look of your blog and how you share so much about you, I feel as if I know you already!

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  2. Dear Sophie,
    I also relate very much to what you wrote. It is good to hear your real voice and sharing moments as we perceive them.
    To me this is perfect.
    Hello from Nina (following Blog Boss too)

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  3. Hi Nina, thank you, I think we all "suffer" from being too hard on ourselves, in all aspects of life, which is a shame as it holds us back in reality.

    I love the use of mixed media on your blog by the way and the variety of things you talk about, I could be there for hours :-)

    Thanks for stopping by, see you in class!

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